Replaceable button clamp



Mau'ch 3, 1 959 F. A. REECE 2,875,715

REPLACEABLE BUTTON CLAMP Filed April 16. 1954 E'anRwZ/QJZeeQe QQK' wk United States 2,875,715 REPLACEABLE BUTTON CLAMP Franklin A. Reece, Brookline, Mass. Application April 16, 1954, Serial No. 423,611

4 Claims. (Cl. 112-114) The present invention relates to button clamps or holders by means of which a button is held while it is being sewn onto a garment by a button sewing machine. In garment factories, it is necessary to sew on buttons of different sizes and kinds andto form thread necks of varying length.

Button sewing machines operate at high speeds and therefore the actual sewing time is very small. For instance, a machine operating at 1800 stitches per minute requires only half a second to sew 16 stitches in a fourhole button. Therefore, if the operator sews on 1,000 buttons per hour, as is entirely possible, the time occupied in putting the button in the clamp and locating the button with respect to the work is about seven times that required by the actual sewing and the only opportunity to make a substantial saving of time is in the time required to position the button on the work. Adjustable or universal clamps, as presently made, are large and obstruct the operators vision and therefore slow down the work. In certain types of work, for instance, on shirts, a large number of buttons of the same size are sewn successively not obstruct the operators vision substantially more than the button itself.

The button clamp embodying the present invention can be removed quickly and another clamp for buttons of a different range of sizes put in place by the operator without the use of any tools. It also may be changed to form necks of diiferent lengths-all without calling the maintenance man.

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the essential parts of a button sewing machine provided with a button clamp embodying the present invention and arranged to attach a button by a long neck of thread.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, certain portions being broken away for clearness of illustration.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a spacer 30 in place on the end of the retaining spring 34.

Fig. 5 is a top plan of a button clamp adapted to receive a button of large size, the clamp being detached from the machine.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the clamp shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the retainer spring 34 and spacer 30.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the spring 34 and spacer 30 shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 shows a button attached to fabric by stitching forming a long neck such as is formed by use of a spacer 30used in Figs. 8 and 9.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly Fig. 1, at 11 is shown a portion of the head of the machine.

2,875,715 Patented Mar. 3,195?

described. This foot 13 is provided with a slot 14 forming a guide way (see Fig. 3) which is closed on the bottom by a bottom plate 15. Withing this slot is received the sliding shank 16 (see Figs. 5 and 6) of a detachable button clamp. The front end of the shank 16 is turned downwardly, as shown at 17, and providedwith a bottom member or button rest 18, which is usually hollowed out as shown at 19 to conform somewhat the shape of the undersurface of the button. It also has an opening or cutaway portion at the front to allow the operator to hold the button by the edge between the thumb and forefinger as she pushesit back into position and also to allow passage of the needle through the holes in the button into the work. The bottom member 18 is also provided with a checkered bottom portion 40 to ensure that the cloth to which the button is to be attached is held firmly during sewing. Two spring side members 20-20, formed as a single U-shaped piece, are secured by stud 21, to the down turned part 17 of the shank 16, the top front corner edges being bent inwardly as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. The bottom member 18 and the spring side members 20 together form a space of the proper size and shape to receive the button and the inwardly turned flanges 20 on the spring members hold the button A down on its seat as is indicated in Fig. 6. The bottom member 18 not only supports the button when in the sewing position but also serves to guide the button into the flaring entrance between the two side clamps 20-20 so that no skill is required to insert the button and this can be done with great rapidity. In fact, the operator can see the place where the button is to be sewn and therefore can easily move the work back and forth to get the button into precisely the place intended. This construction makes it possible to make the rest 18 about the size of the button so that it does not cover up and obscure any substantial part of the work and the operator can position the button with respect to the work accurately even when working at high speed.

At its rear the shank 16 is formed with a circular hole 22, entrance to which is provided by an opening 23, the width of the opening being less than the diameter of the circular hole. On the foot 13 and at the rear thereof is a latch 24. When viewed from the bottom, as seen in Fig. 3, this latch is substantially rectangular with curved ends and of a size capable of fitting the interior of the hole 22 in the shank 16. The latch 24 has a width slightly less than the distance between the sides of the entrance opening 23. The latch 24 is on a rotatable stud 25 located in a hole at the rear of the foot 13 and is provided with a handle 26 by which it may be turned about its axis. A coil spring 27 one end of which rests against the handle 26 and the other end of which is against a vertical stud 28 of the foot 13 is provided to hold the latch normally in locking position, i. c. with the handle 26 against a second stud 29 which is mounted on the foot 13 in spaced relation to the stud 28.

This construction is such that the button plate or rest 18 controls the height of the button as the operator slides it into place between the spring fingers 20, while the space 42 enables her to retain her hold on the button until it is in position with its bottom resting in the dished out portion 19 of the bottom plate 18.

When the operator wishes to sew a button of a size outside the range for which the button clamp or holder is intended, she moves the handle from the full line position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. In this position the latch 24 is lengthwise of the axis of the shank and the button clamp may then be pulled out and replaced by another. The operator- .being released the latch 24 locks the button holder positively in operative position from which it cannot be dislodged accidentally.

When it is desired to form a longer neck for the button, the operator places on the underside of the foot 18 a spacer 30 which has also a checkered undersurface 31 (see Figs. 4 and 9). The spacer 30 is formed in a crescent shape (see Figs. 8 and 9) and has a central opening 41 like the corresponding opening 42 in the button rest 18. This crescent shaped spacer 30 is formed with a peripheral groove 35 (see Fig. 9) to receive the side members 33 of a forked retaining spring 34 secured by screws 36 to the bottom of the foot 13. A pair of pins 37 (see Fig. 8) engages holes 43 in the underside of the button rest 18 and prevent displacement of the spacer 30 during insertion and removal of the work to which the button is to be sewn. To insert a spacer 30, the latch 24 is moved to the dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 3, and the button clamp is pulled bodily out of the slot 14 in the foot. The spacer is then put in place with the pins 37 in the holes in the bottom face of the button rest 18. Then, while the operator holds the spacer in this position, the button clamp is pushed back into place until the latch 24 is in the hole 22 and the clamp locked in place. As the clamp is pushed in, the arms 33 of the spring retainer enter the peripheral groove in the spacer 30 and straddle it. Thereafter, the spacer is held immovably in its position and the neck produced by the sewing mechanism is correspondingly lengthened.

Spacers 31) of different thickness may be used to produce necks of different lengths as desired. One such neck is shown in Fig. 10.

I claim:

1. In a button sewing machine and in combination, a foot having a horizontal slot therein, a button clamp hav-' ing a shank slidable in and removable from the slot in the foot, said shank having a hole therein at its rear and an entrance passage thereto narrower than the width of the hole, and a latch on the foot comprising a rectangular member rotatable on an aXis normal to the plane of the- 2. In a button sewing machine and in combination, a button clamp having a button holding portion, a retaining spring having a forked end and secured with the forked end under the button holding portion of the clamp, and a spacer having on its sides grooves engaged by the arms of the forked end when in place, and thereby held in position between the underside of the button clamp and the work.

3. In a button sewing machine and in combination, a foot having a horizontal slot therein, a button clamp having a shank slidable in and removable from the slot in the foot, said shank having a hole therein at its rear and an entrance passage thereto narrower than the width of the hole, and a latch on the foot movable between two positions and having one dimension which is less than the width of the entrance passage and another which is greater thereby in one position allowing insertion and removal of the shank from the slot in the foot, and in the other position locking the shank in the slot when the latch is disposed in the slot.

4. In a button sewing machine and in combination, a

foot having a horizontal slot therein, a button clamp hav- ,one position and another dimension which is gleater than the width of the entrance passage whereby the shank will be locked in the slot when the latch is disposed in the hole in the shank in its other position, and a spring acting on the latch and holding it normally in said other position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 436,321 Stirckler Sept. 9, 1890 1,359,858 Barron Nov. 23, 1920 1,366,348 Barron Ian. 25, 1921 1,461,427 McCann July 10. 1923 1,503,051 Kiessling July 29, 1924 1,977,279 Karle Oct. 16, 1934 2,096,136 Reece et al Oct. 19, 1937 2,647,480 Murino Aug. 4, 1953 

